Spire
by ChainGun Butch
Summary: After having a strange dream, Korra finds a letter on her night stand telling her to meet someone during midnight and a strange book about the spirit, Mercer. Is this someone's idea of an elaborate joke or is Korra actually being contacted by a spirit?
1. Chapter 1: Letter from a friend

Korra tossed and turned in her bed, sleep far away from her for some reason. She had thought it was just because she was in a different bed and room than the one she was used to but there was something nagging at her mind that she couldn't quite place.

Eventually she did drift off to sleep but she the dreams she was having seemed… real.

She was in the South Pole compound, training as she did almost every day while she lived there and she caught a glimpse of a bald man in yellow and orange robes standing just outside of the training ring.

"Aang?" She breathed, somehow knowing who it was.

Suddenly, just as quickly as Aang appeared, he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Korra looked around her, trying to make sense of what was happening when a pole near her also disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

Korra stared as the top part of one of the walls did so as well, then several roof tiles on the dining hall.

Soon Korra found herself in a sea of smoke as white lotus sentries, objects and even snow disappeared.

She spotted Katara staring straight ahead, no emotion on her face as she too, disappeared in smoke.

Soon there were swirls of smoke everywhere and Korra saw some creep towards her. She was unable to struggle or even move as she slowly began fading from existence.

She heard a voice.

"This is not real, Korra. He's trying to trick you. Fight it." The voice said, barely audible as it echoed from the nothingness around her.

She still couldn't move.

"Wake up, Korra." The voice said again, slightly more urgently.

Korra continued to remain frozen in place.

What sounded like a growl echoed around her and the voice came again.

"Wake up now!" the voice boomed and Korra jerked back.

She found herself in her bed at Air Temple Island, sweating insanely.

She looked around her room, telling herself that she was in a somewhat familiar place in an attempt to calm herself down. She had only been at Air Temple Island for a few days but the sight of her room was enough to calm her down.

Suddenly something caught her eye and she reached towards her nightstand.

A leather-bound book, decorated with silver was now resting in her hand. A small note lay on top of it and she lit a candle with her fire bending so she could read it.

She examined the note. It was written in neat but hasty handwriting.

"Meet me outside the Republic city police station, by the giant metal statue of fire lord Zuko, at midnight the day after you receive this letter.

Show whoever you meet there the book I have sent with this letter.

Tell no one, this is important." She read and stared at the book.

The front cover was some strange symbol that looked like a kind of… claw mark.

The title read "Mercer"

Korra opened the book up and began reading the first pages.

"Mercer is one of the oldest known spirits and also one of the most powerful. He is what some would call a "shape shifter", a being with the ability to change his shape to that of anyone he so desires. Mercer is also able to change his voice and is known to be very gifted at impersonating others, even with little knowledge of their personality.

Mercer is a powerful spirit, physically many times stronger than a human and given his age, he is also very wise and cunning.

He has the innate ability to take the powers of anyone he bests in combat or finds in a sufficiently weak state and use them himself; growing in power every time he takes the abilities of humans and spirits alike.

There are rumours that he can also take the memories of those whose powers he takes but some philosophers would argue he simply gained the ability to read minds from one spirit or another.

Mercer himself is hard to predict. While it is known that he spends large amounts of time among mortals, his motives for being among our kind remain a mystery.

Strangely, avatar Kyoshi, at one point, claimed to have known Mercer and she told the council of elders where she made this claim that he was a generous and good natured spirit that sought to help mortals.

Kyoshi was never able to prove this claim however, and many did not believe she had ever met mercer.

There is no solid evidence relating to where Mercer has been but we do know he has adopted many names and aliases. One of the more common ones, "The Father of Beasts" refers to his ability to spawn monsters and animals out of his own body.

In actual fact, how he spawns these monsters or if he even possesses that ability at all is a matter of debate."

Korra read and then closed the book, taking in everything that had just happened.

She silently pondered to herself whether or not to trust whoever sent this letter. She couldn't tell Tenzin because she had a nagging feeling the one who sent the letter would know if she did.

She made up her mind; she would go to the meeting location, with her guard up.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting of the minds

The day went by quickly, as Korra tried her best to not think about the letter. She knew Tenzin would pick up on it if she showed any signs of distress or worry.  
She wasn't worried of course, Korra was almost never afraid of anything but she had a nagging feeling she had to keep her guard up, and so she followed her gut.  
Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, Korra silently crept out of her bed and made her way to the air temple island docks. Checking that none of the white lotus sentries noticed her, she jumped into the ocean and used her bending to carry herself towards the city.  
After a while she found herself at the docks and began to make her way to the statue of fire lord Zuko. It which wasn't that far away from the docks so she didn't have long to walk.  
When Korra finally arrived on the outskirts of the square she checked to giant clock on one of the buildings.  
"Alright, it'll be midnight in a few minutes. No point in hiding in the shadows, I guess." Korra thought to herself and approached the towering metal statue.  
She spotted a figure hiding in the shadows nearby. She couldn't see much but she could see he was a male, and tall. His face was covered by a hood. Judging by the size of his arms and legs, Korra assumed he was quite built.  
Korra didn't really know how to approach him, so she inevitably wound up standing in the middle of the street like an idiot.  
The figure calmly walked out of his hiding spot and stepped into the relative illumination of the streetlights. His face was still hidden by his hood, though.  
"I take it you're avatar Korra?" he asked in a voice that was deep, but not nearly as old as Korra would've expected. Korra was beginning to doubt whether or not this meeting was legitimate.  
"Yeah and whether I'm friendly or not depends on who's asking. You the guy who wrote the letter?" Korra asked, making sure to project an air of "Don't mess with me."  
"I like your attitude, direct but not rude or threatening. To answer your question, I am the one who wrote that letter. Did you bring that book I sent with it?" the guy asked.  
"Yeah, it's right here" Korra said, handing him the book.  
He examined it for a moment before looking up at her.  
"Alright then. I'm sorry about all the hush-hush but I needed to make sure the person I was meeting was actually the avatar. Let's just say I'm… suspicious right now and leave it at that. So, I guess I owe you an explanation, since I made you come all the way over here during the middle of the night." The guy said.  
"That would be nice, yeah." Korra said with a small amount of sarcasm.  
"Alright, I trust you remember that dream you had last night?" the man asked.  
"How did you…?" Korra began.  
"I was the voice you heard, the one telling you to wake up. I hate to be the bearer of bad news avatar, but you're being targeted." The man said.  
"What? By who?" Korra asked, growing more and more confused by the moment.  
"Have the heard of a spirit called Ko?" the man asked and Korra shook her head.  
"I can't say I'm surprised, Avatar Aang encountered him during the hundred years war but Ko has never been very friendly, he's actually quite treacherous. I'm not surprised Aang didn't want to talk about his meeting with Ko. Anyway, Ko has always hated the avatar.  
I don't know why but he makes it his mission to kill every incarnation of the avatar he can. That dream you had was some kind of magic or something he was working. If I hadn't pulled you out of it, your soul and body would become separated and you would have died. I called you here to ask permission for me to travel with you and guard you from his vision attacks. I can protect you from far away but you'll be much safer if I'm in the same building as you." The man said.  
Korra pondered for a bit, she didn't like the idea of an insane spirit trying to kill her but she didn't trust the man in front of her either.  
"How can I be sure that this isn't just some trick and you weren't the one trying to kill me?" Korra asked.  
"I can't say anything to you to prove to you I'm on your side. So, I'll call a witness. Avatar, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, avatar Kyoshi." The man said and Korra stared at him like he was crazy before a small flash appeared next to him and Korra's eyes widened.  
The glowing form of one of Korra's past lives, avatar Kyoshi, was standing right in front of her.  
"Hello Korra." Kyoshi said.  
Korra was speechless and after a few moments of stuttering and tripping over her words Kyoshi raised a hand.  
"Korra, I'm sorry but I can't be here for long. Rest assured that the men standing beside me is indeed trying to help you. He has helped the avatar many times and I would trust him with my life. I would stay longer but I must go." Kyoshi said and vanished.  
Korra stared at the spot where Kyoshi was standing the moment before.  
"Alright, I believe you. I'll take you to Air Temple Island and we can tell master Tenzin." Korra said and motioned for the man to follow.  
They walked back to the docks in complete silence, Korra's head too full of questions to pick one to ask. Eventually she did find a relevant one.  
"So, what was with all that stuff about mercer? I get you needed a way to make it sure was really me but why not just ask me to show you the letter?" Korra asked.  
The man laughed a short but happy laugh.  
"I would've thought you'd have figured it out by now. Did you enjoy my little biography?" The man asked.  
"Wait… You're…?" Korra began.  
"Yep, I'm Mercer. Nice to meet you avatar Korra." He said and turned to her, pulling back his hood.  
Korra stared at his face; his features were sharp but friendly. His hair was jet black and short. She couldn't look away from his eyes, they were glowing. This wasn't some trick of her imagination.  
The man's eyes were literally glowing a deep crimson and there was something about them that Korra couldn't place. Yes, his eyes were glowing red but there was something else.  
Mercer just smirked and continued walking to the docks, Korra trailing after him.  
They reached the pier and stared into the murky water.  
"Want me to water bend us across?" Korra asked, not wanting to make mercer swim.  
"Yeah, If you don't mind." Mercer said.  
Korra grabbed onto his wrist and launched them both into the water. They shot through the water, Korra careful to keep above the water enough so that they could both breathe.  
They reached air Temple Island and Korra took a minute to rest on the beach. She wasn't used to moving more than one person through water. It wasn't exhausting but she did have to put in twice as much effort.  
"Alright, it's probably best if you stay behind me so that the sentries don't think you're a burglar or something." Korra said.  
"I do look the part with this hood, don't I? After you, avatar." Mercer said.  
They made their way up towards the house and, as Korra expected, the sentries weren't happy to see she'd snuck out.  
"Avatar Korra, what are you doing outside? I…" one of the sentries began but then noticed mercer.  
"Avatar, who is this?" another sentry asked.  
"Relax guys. I had a meeting. Is Tenzin inside?" Korra asked.  
"Yes, he's in the dining hall. He's not happy that you snuck out again." The first sentry asked.  
"Alright, I'll go talk to him." Korra said and they walked past but the sentries stopped Mercer.  
"You, stay here." One of them said.  
Mercer sighed. "Korra, I'm guessing you'd be mad at me if I beat up your sentries?" Mercer asked.  
"Guys, he's with me. Let him through." Korra said.  
Reluctantly the sentries agreed and let Mercer pass. He followed Korra through the corridors of the large house… temple… thing. They finally reached the dining hall to spot an angry looking Tenzin glaring at them.  
"Okay, I know this looks bad but I had a very good reason." Korra said.  
"And what might that be?" Tenzin asked.  
Korra relayed the events of the night to Tenzin and his eyes widened as the story progressed. He stood up and faced Mercer.  
"I never thought I'd see this day. It is an honour to welcome a spirit into my home." Tenzin said with a bow.  
"Please, councilman. The honour is mine. As Korra said I will need to guard her dreams in case Ko attacks again and I am more effective if I'm close. If I could stay outside her room at night I would be able to keep her completely safe." Mercer said with a bow of his own.  
"That reminds me, how long do we have to do this for anyway? When will Ko give up?" Korra asked.  
"He won't. Ko is persistent and patient but luckily for us, once I've been guarding your mind for about three weeks, your natural avatar defence against his attacks will kick in and I won't be needed. Since you haven't had much contact with your spiritual side, that defence hasn't kicked in but it will once I've been around long enough." Mercer said and Korra nodded.  
"Very well, but I insist that you take the room next to Korra's. It wouldn't be right of me to make you sleep in the hallway." Tenzin said.  
"Thank you councilman." Mercer said.  
Everything after that went quietly, Korra went off to bed and mercer went to his own room, promising to answer Tenzin's barrage of questions about the spirit world in the morning.  
Korra slept peacefully that night. 


	3. Chapter 3: Breakfast

Korra woke up much later than usual.

According to her clock it was thirty minutes past ten in the morning. She hurried to get dressed and went into Mercer's room to wake him but she found his bed empty.

"He must be getting breakfast already." She thought to herself and went to the dining hall.

She popped her head through the doorway and found Mercer and Tenzin talking calmly at one of the tables.

"Morning guys." She said as she approached their table.

"Morning." Mercer said.

"I didn't think you'd ever wake up. Last night's little meeting definitely had you tired." Tenzin said.

"I did only get to sleep at about three in the morning so yeah. What'd I miss?" Korra asked as she sat down.

"Not much, Tenzin's been very curious about the spirit world so I've been answering all his questions since I woke up. Anybody want breakfast?" Mercer asked.

"Mercer, you're a guest in my home. I'll make the breakfast." Tenzin said.

"Nope, too late. I just claimed the chef hat." Mercer said and ran into the kitchen.

"Oh, very well." Tenzin said and Him and Korra sat in silence.

"So, did you learn anything about him? I didn't get much about Mercer last night." Korra said.

"I'll admit I didn't find much out either but he was very forthcoming in my questions regarding the spirit world although I think he was eager to get off the subject. It seems Mercer is a bit of a wanderer, judging by how many parts of the spirit world he says he's been to." Tenzin said.

"I wonder if he'd want to come with to pro bending practice today. I don't Bolin would mind but I'm not sure about Mako. He doesn't like guests." Korra said.

"I suppose you'll have to ask him." Tenzin said.

"By the way, where are Pema and the kids? I thought they'd be up by now." Korra said.

"They're still asleep. We were all a little worried when you left last night and didn't get much sleep until we found you were back." Tenzin said.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Korra said sheepishly.

"I understand you had a very good reason. Pema will probably be up soon and…" Tenzin was cut off by a startled gasp coming from the kitchen and the sound of something dropping on the floor.

A few seconds later a startled Mercer was thrown out of the kitchen by an air blast.

"Um, Tenzin, why did an air bender girl just blast me through the doorway?" Mercer asked as Korra helped him up.

Just then Jinora burst through the doorway, ready to launch another air blast when she saw Korra and Tenzin.

"I caught him going through our kitchen." She explained.

"Um, I was looking for the paprika." Mercer said.

"Uh, Jinora, Mercer was just making breakfast." Korra said.

Jinora quickly got out of her defensive stance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a burglar with the hood." She said shyly.

"Don't worry. I think I may have burnt breakfast anyway. Nice technique. You're quite gifted given your age." Mercer said. Jinora looked at Mercer confused when Tenzin stepped in.

"Oh, um, Jinora this is Mercer, that spirit I told you about last night." He said and Jinora looked even shyer.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you." She said, apologizing again.

"No trouble." Mercer said.

Korra quickly glanced at the clock.

"Ah, geez. I have to get to practice. Mercer, don't suppose you'd want to come to pro bending practice with me?" Korra asked.

"Sure, it's been a while since I've been to the arena. Let's go." Mercer said and the two ran out of the house.

"He's quite energetic for such an old spirit." Jinora said.

"Indeed, although I suppose it is in his nature after all." Tenzin said.


End file.
